Archive for the ‘Online Marketing’ Category

Posted by Bonnie Landau on 08 May 2012 under Guest Post, Online Marketing | Comments Off on Effective, Important, Professional Tips for Composing Emails

Although many of us are already savvy when it comes to writing, many more people want and need to learn how to write effective emails. This is imperative nowadays due to the ubiquity of the internet in work, school and everything in between.

1. The Basics

Make sure to use proper grammar and sentence structure when writing to anyone, whether it’s your mother or boss. You can always use the practice. Remember that the rules of paper formatting count in email too. Also, be specific. Unstructured phrases that use too many pronouns leave the reader guessing about the subject that you are trying to talk about.

2. Brevity

Don’t overload your co-workers or clients in the number or length of emails you send. Use concise details for specific operations that you are trying to address. If you need very specific info, it might be better to draft a report or have a meeting with a note-taker. If you are emailing to a group of people, then minimize sharing details with everyone. Instead, write multiple emails and simply copy and paste the main points from one person to another, adding in details as you go.

3. Format

Use proper email format for letter when writing. That way, your recipient can then better understand and utilize the information you’ve provided. So, don’t just write an email like it’s to your spouse. Is it in response to a question? Make this obvious. Are you sending a questionnaire? Make it organized. Lastly, always include information about the addressee (at the beginning) and yourself (at the end).

4. Decorum

Be appropriate. For some reason, many people think that email is more casual or less formal than other forms of communication. This may have been true 20 years ago, but now, it’s the primary form of communication for many companies. Never be rude, offensive, sexual or otherwise inappropriate. On the one hand, this makes sense because you don’t want to jeopardize any relationships, but you also should look out for your own interests – usually, email is monitored.

5. Organization

Getting the most out of email has to do with more than just the writing part. Be sure to keep track of all your valuable and important communications by incorporating a BCC line back to yourself, your boss or perhaps just generic inbox, so that you can always have a record, and you can also see what it looks like on the receiving end. Also, be organized. Have more folders than just your one inbox (but not too many that it stops being efficient). Also, be sure to always have all of your contacts and their information in one place – don’t hop back and forth between accounts or address books. This way, your emails are working for you!

Posted by Bonnie Landau on 10 Feb 2012 under Online Marketing | Comments Off on Is Pinterest the Next Social Media Game Changer?

Social and search continue to be essential inbound marketing channels. And while Google’s generating a lot of discussion around its new social network, Google+, another website is actually driving more inbound traffic: Pinterest.

With its U.S. traffic skyrocketing to more than 10 million visits, the virtual pinboard is now one of the top 10 social networking and forum websites. Our latest infographic introduces you to Pinterest and provides ideas on how you can use the social photo sharing website to promote products, build community, and drive website traffic and conversions.

Oh, and Pinterest raised $37 million in funding last year and has an unconfirmed valuation of up to $200 million. So, if you haven’t paid much attention to it yet, you might want to start.

Posted by Bonnie Landau on 06 Feb 2012 under Online Marketing, Social Media | Comments Off on How to Integrate Social Media Into Your Website

You have signed up for all the social media platforms, but you have not engaged the number of people you were hoping for. Your website can be a significant tool in gaining you some social media connections.

We have tracked down some fabulous articles that will help you do just this. They provide you nearly a dozen ways that you can use your website to grow your social media network.

The dramatic snowstorm on Sunday, December 26 dumped over 30 inches of snow on the city of Newark. The citizens were trapped in their homes, often unable to get emergency medical assistance or even groceries. But never fear their Mayor was armed with a Smartphone and a Twitter account!

Throughout the clean-up process Mayor Cory Booker was on foot, in the snow, connecting with people through tweets and DMs (direct messages). He kept track of requests for help, made deliveries and motivated people to lend a hand during the crisis. He personally helped dig out cars and even delivered diapers to a trapped family.

Social media is often regarded as a way to grow your business or keep in touch with friends. But when it is used to really make a positive difference, it’s incredible to see the power of possibility it offers.

When people are growing their web presence they often focus on SEO (search engine optimization) to the exclusion of all else. The fact is, SEO is only one component of an online marketing strategy, and often what you do in an online marketing campaign can effect your SEO results.

What is SEO (search engine optimization)?

According to Wikipedia, SEO is: the practice of maximizing the volume or quality of traffic to a web site (such as a blog) from search enginessearch results as opposed to other forms of search engine marketing (“SEM”) which may deal with paid inclusion. via “natural” or un-paid (“organic” or “algorithmic”)

In other words, SEO is what you do to come up on page 1 of Google. It is essentially the technical site of online marketing. SEO is primarily focused in 3 areas:

Content generation on your site or other sites.

Gaining as many links INTO your site as possible.

Optimizing your website for keywords chosen.

What is Online Marketing?

According to YourDictionary.com: In its simplest form, the term online marketing refers to using the power of Internet advertising to generate a response from your audience.

So Online marketing ecompasses all things you do to gain customers through your website or blog. This could include:

Social media

SEO

Banner advertising

Print advertising

Press releases

Article marketing

Creating a blog to compliment your website

Affiliate marketing

Email marketing

Video marketing

Online marketing is the process of turning your web presence into a salesman that never sleeps. It incorporates traditional marketing as well as online marketing, and the end goal is to increase the traffic to your website.

Do I have to do both?

The short answer is yes. If you want to maximize incoming traffic to your website, then SEO and other online marketing techniques are both required. But research shows that 47% of potential customers are going to the search engines to find online businesses, and with those numbers, ranking high in the search engines is a critical component of gaining online eyeballs. So if you do nothing else, focusing on SEO will gain you incoming traffic can help you gain half the market share for your niche.

SEO Webinars

Landau Digital has SEO webinars to teach you how to do SEO on your own. Join us and find out how you can create a dramatic increase in website traffic in just 3 months: